Regency Hotel

I stayed at the Regency in November with my husband for one night. This was not our first visit to the hotel, we have stayed there on several occasions over a 15 year period. On arrival, there were 3 couples all arriving at check in at the same time. Within seconds there were 3 members of staff to check everyone in promptly. They were all friendly, welcoming and efficient.

We had a very spacious room, temperature was just right and it was very clean. Only a few quibbles, it is not easy to find somewhere convenient to plug in the kettle and I agree with an earlier review, that plastic spoons are a bit naff for a 4 star establishment! The sachets of toiletries were a little disappointing, I prefer a bit more quantity in my bubble bath!

We had a peaceful night, the room and corridor was very quiet, no noise from the road either.

Breakfast was not as good as it used to be 'in the old days'! I really used to like the hot buffet where you could decide what you wanted for a full English. The new system of having to order your preference just isn't as much fun or as good value. I notice that very few customers where having an English breakfast, they were opting for the cold buffet instead.

Check out was very efficient, different reception staff but equally as pleasant as the previous shift. Also a word of praise for the young men who go to extreme lengths to get a taxi for you, often involving a jog up the road..

I do agree with previous reviewers that the hotel is looking a bit tired round the edges and some aspects of the furnishings are very dated, but I understand a refurb is nearly under way, so fingers crossed for next years visit.

Stayed mid-October for 2 uncomfortable nights. But let's start with the positive.... the location of the hotel is a huge bonus - a short walk to a choice of tube stations, or the Cromwell Road museums (Science, Nat Hist, V&A). Nice lobby, friendly staff, they're happy to store your cases if you check in/out early. Can't complain about the 'continental buffet' breakfast included in our room rate. So far, so good,,,,but,,,,, London can be **warm** mid-October - and very noisy (especially for the rooms which overlook Queens Gate itself - although ours was on the 'quiet' west side). OK, but the hotel offers A/C right? Nope!!! 'Sorry sir, we turn off the A/C in the 'winter' '(18C and humid that day!) so window open, still a hot room, and noisy because of a huge fan (kitchen?) just outside, and the inevitable late-night revellers. Room was small - just about sufficient for 2 small single beds, which were basic/firm but OK. Reasonably clean - we've experienced far worse - and at least there was the basic kettle/tea/coffee/milk (but you might find plugging in the kettle a challenge....) Sorry chaps, but if I've had a hot, uncomfortable night because you decide to save a few pennies by turning off the A/C, you deserve a worse review than I'm giving you. I've learned my lesson - next time a hotel offers 'climate control' I will ask them if it will actually be working when we arrive!

Recently stayed here on business (company booked it)

I had been here 15 years ago and wasn't impressed this time - it doesn't look like it's been touched in all that time, bar regular cleaning, which admittedly is pretty good

The bedrooms are very old fashioned, the bed was heavily worn, and the bathrooms straight out of the late 80s. Not good at all. the only concession to modernity here is a flat screen TV on the wall, but that's not enough to save it. For anywhere near the rack rates you should be expecting controllable heating &ventilation, good quality and modern fittings and furnishings, a smart bathroom and excellent beds and there's none of that.

Common areas aren't much better - battered old lifts, dated decor in the reception, corridors and restaurant.

Service at reception is *OK* and polite enough, restaurant service was pretty rubbish, especially at breakfast when the staff missed orders and orders took way too long to deliver - no one wants to hang around for an hour in the morning.

Rack rates are ridiculously high and I can't believe anyone pays them. Even worse is the £17 charge (!) for a slow, not brilliant breakfast, don't even think about paying for this, it's only worthwhile if you're on a cheap B&B deal.

Overall it was pretty poor. Unless you're getting a very good deal (and it needs to be well below £100pn to represent any sort of value), look elsewhere. The two Millenium hotels 5 minutes up the road are 10x the place this is, and seem to usually be available for similar money